


Better Ideas

by Mice



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mycroft's family are shitty human beings, Mystrade Advent Calendar, but the fic is actually pretty sweet, everyone knows her name isn't really anthea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 04:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16803268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mice/pseuds/Mice
Summary: Mycroft's holiday plans are a bit disrupted





	Better Ideas

It was late Saturday evening when Mycroft finally arrived home. He'd been called in to an emergency meeting that morning, hoping only to be needed for a few hours, but a swiftly-shifting operation required following and immediate analysis, and he couldn't justify returning home before intelligence-gathering was complete. 'A few hours' had swiftly become nearly eleven at night.

On the occasional table inside the door, his post awaited. One was an envelope he'd been dreading - holiday decorations and an all-too-familiar address gave the contents away. He sighed and picked up the envelopes, taking them with him to put everything on his desk in the office near his bedroom.

"Wasn't sure when you were getting home," Greg said. He stood at the library window, pensive and tired. Rain shimmered on the glass in the dim light.

"I wish it could have been sooner. Have you been well today?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, but you know how the flu takes it out of me. Glad the fever's finally gone, and hoping to go back to work Monday."

"That's good, then." Mycroft set the mail down on the arm of his favorite chair and went to Greg, wrapping the man in his arms. He pressed a kiss to Greg's temple. It was as much to check his temperature as a gesture of affection. Greg burrowed into the embrace and sighed softly. Mycroft continued, "I believe I've received an… invitation from my parents for the holidays."

Greg moaned. "Oh, bugger." 

"My feelings exactly."

Greg chuckled. "You should read it and find out what horrors they've got in mind this year."

Mycroft tightened his arms around Greg for a moment then released him, reluctant. "I suppose I should. I despise their attempts to coerce me into 'making merry' every year, but one does what one must to keep peace in the family."

Greg's wry smile was a reflection of Mycroft's own sentiment on the subject, amused but resigned. "There's always my family."

"Good lord. I'd be subjected to the riotous depredations of fourteen children under the age of ten, between the offspring of your siblings and your various cousins."

"Well, yeah. Kind of comes with the package."

"My heart, not to mention my peace of mind, couldn't take the strain." Mycroft picked up the envelope from his parents and opened it. 

"Couldn't be worse than Sherlock, John, and Rosie. And your parents. All in the same room. But mostly Sherlock." Greg shrugged. Mycroft took in the text hand-written in the card and stood for a moment in shock. "Mycroft? You okay?"

Mycroft handed the card to Greg, silent.

Greg read. "Wow. Seriously? Christmas with Euros?" He looked up at Mycroft, eyes wide. "What the hell are they thinking?"

"I haven't the first notion." The very thought incited panic and Mycroft struggled to put down that rising tide.

Greg paused for a moment. "So," he said, "you changed your mind?" His eyebrows raised in query.

Mycroft swallowed and sat abruptly, burying his face in his hands. "I shall endeavor to endure the noise and chaos of your family's celebrations this year, if only for a few hours." He heard Greg move to stand near him and felt the warmth of Greg's hand on his shoulder.

"A few hours is fine. Your family's certifiable, you know. Christmas carols and gingerbread aren't going to change your sister. It's insane that they'd even try, much less want you to go along with it, after everything she put you through. Everything _they_ put you through."

"I have tried so hard," Mycroft murmured, his chest in knots. "I've sacrificed nearly everything to keep them safe, and this is my reward."

Greg crouched at Mycroft's knee and gently tilted his face up with a finger at his chin. "You don't have to go through the motions, love. You don't have to pretend everything's all right. And you absolutely do not have to spend your holiday with your homicidal sister who tried to murder you and your entire family by setting your house on fire, for just one example. I know you're not really into kids, but at least my family's harmless. We don't have to be there long, just enough to drop off some gifts and have dinner with them. Four hours, at most, okay? Just enough for appearances. They'll be fine with that. They like you, and they know you don't do well with the little ones. They'll understand."

Mycroft heard 'I'll make them understand' in Greg's words, and he nodded. "You're far too kind and accomodating to me, my dear."

Greg huffed a vaguely annoyed sigh. "Stop trying to paint me as some kind of saint, love. You know I'm not. I put a foot in it just as regularly as everyone else. I just want to take care of you when I can, because nobody else in your life seems to." He paused. "Okay, Andrea sometimes, but she's not exactly family."

The tightness in Mycroft's chest eased somewhat. "You're right, of course. But you'll forgive me for feeling that anyone who might actually want to care for me is either a saint or a madman. Perhaps both."

Greg laughed. "Yeah, that's me, your lunatic guardian angel. Fights crime by day, keeps you sane by night."

"Enough work for a lifetime, I'm sure." Mycroft ventured a shy smile.

"Enough for mine, at any rate," Greg agreed. He kissed Mycroft gently. "Send 'em a card and tell 'em you've other plans this year, and I'll call my mum tomorrow and let her know we'll be there for a short visit."

He was quite certain the refusal would cause fireworks with Mummy, but Mycroft knew Greg was right. Better to face an enraged mother than a homicidal, if currently non-communicative, sister. He'd spent too many years of holidays at home, sparring with Sherlock and trying to cope with his parents. Now, with Greg in his life, he could contemplate a change that had been previously unimaginable. He had an actual reason to refuse his family's invitations, and far better and more enjoyable ways to spend holidays now.

Determined, Mycroft nodded. "I shall. And now, it's quite late. I should very much like to have something to eat, then spend the rest of my night under warm blankets with you."

Greg's grin was brilliant as a beacon in the dim room. "Best idea you've had all day."

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place at the weekend.  
> You must mention an invitation,  
> use the word 'shimmer',  
> and include this line of dialogue:  
> "So... you changed your mind?"


End file.
